The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-01-09
turned to Mrs Ord, but Mrs Grant defended
her frIsnd at the risk of arousing greater ve-


Ger OF General Ord's etaf, rode up. and. irving
to say something ocular, remarked: ssThe Pres
idents horse Is very gallant Mrs. Lincoln; he
insists on riding by the side of Mrs. Ord" This.
OF course. added fuel to the fame "What do
you mean by that. STRIP she cried. Seward dis
covered that he had made huge mistake, and
his horse at once developed q popularity that
compelled him to ride behind, to get out of the
way of the storm.
Finally the party arrived at its destination,
and Mrs. Ord came up to the ambulance Then
Mrs. Lincoln positively insulted her, called her
vile names in the presence of a crowd of officers,
and asked what she meant by following up the
President The poor woman burst into tears and
inquired what she had done. but Mrs. Lincoln
refused to be appeased. and stormed till she was
tired. Mrs. Grant still tried to stand by her
friend, and everybody was shocked and Mortified.
But all things come to end and after q while
we returned to City Point
That night the President and Mrs. Lincoln
entertained General and Mrs. Grant and the
Generals staff at dinner on the steamer, and
before all Mrs. Lincoln berated General Ord
to the President. and urged that he should be
removed He was unfit for his place, she said,
to.say nothing of his wife General Grant sat
next, and defended the officer bravely. OF
course General Ord was not removed.
During all this visit similar scenes were
curing. Mrs Lincoln repeatedly attacked her
husband in the presence of officers because OF
these two ladies, and l never suffered greater
humiliation and pain on account Of
l saw the head of the state. the man who car
ried all the cares of the Nation at such crisis
subjected to this inexpressible public mortifca-
ton. He bore it Christ might have done;
with an expression of pain and sadness that cut
one to the heart. but with supreme calmness and
dignity. He called her mother" with his old
time plainness he pleaded with eyes and tones,
and endeavored TO explain or paliate the of
fenses of others, till she turned on him like
tigress; and then he walked away, hiding that
noble, ugly face that we might not catch the full
exnression of its misery.
General Sherman was witness of some of
these episodes and mentioned them in his mem
oirs many years ago. Captain Barnes, of the
navy. was a witness and a sufferer, too Barnes
had accom- panied Mrs. Ord on her unfortunate
ride and refused afterward to say that the lady
to blame. Mrs. Lincoln never forgave him.
A dav or two afterward he went to speak to the
President some official matter when Mrs Lin
coin and several others were present The Presi-
dents wife said something to him unusually
offensive that all the company could hear Lincoln
was SILENT but after moment he went up to
the young officer, and taking him by the arm led
him into his own cabin to show him map or a
paper, he said He made no remark. Barnes
told me- upon what had occurred He could not
rebuke his wife. but he showed his regret and
his regard for the officer with touch of what
seemed to me the most exquisite breeding imag
Unable.
Shortly before these occurrences Mrs. Stanton
had visited City Point, and CHANGED to ask her
some question about the Presidents wife. 81
do not visit Mrs. Lincoln was the reply.
thought must have been mistaken. The wife
of the Secretary of War must visit the wife of
the President; and l renewed my inquiry.
Understand me. sir" she repeated; II do not
60 to the White House; do not visit Mrs. Lin
coin" was not intimate with her at the time,
nor indeed ever, and this remark was extraor
binary that never forgot it, but understood 1t
afterward
Mrs Lincoln continued her conduct toward
Mrs. Grant, who strove to pacate her, and then
Mrs. Lincoln became more outrageous still
She once rebuked Mrs Grant for sitting in her
presence How dare you be seated" she said,
until invite you" Altogether it hate
ful experience at that tremendous crisis in the
Nations history, for all this just before the
army started on it's last campaign.
But the war ended; and tine President and Mrs.
Lincoln had returned to Washington when
General Grant arrived from Appomattox, bring
ing Mrs Grant with him. Two nights afterward
| both General and Mrs Grant, and the Secretary
of War and Mrs. Stanton, were invited to ac-
company the President and Mrs. Lincoln to the
play No answer had yet been sent when
Mrs Stanton called on Mrs. Grant to inquire
if she meant to be OF the party. "For," said
/ shall refuse l will not sit without you in
| the box with Mrs. Lincoln" Mrs. Grant also
| was tired out with what she had endured. and
decided not to go to the play, little dreaming OF
| the terrible experience she was thus aping.
| She was determined to 20 that night to Bur
| liugton, in New Jersey, where her children were
| at school, and asked the General to accompany
| her. She sent note of apology to Mrs. Lincoln
and Mrs Stanton also declined the invitation
| They may both thus have saved their husbands
| lives.
After the murder of the President, the eccen
| trici.ies of Mrs. Lincoln became more apparent
| than ever, and people began to wonder whether
| her mind had not been affected by her terrible
! misfortune Mr. Seward told me that she sole
| the Presidents shirts, with his initials marked OF
them. before she left the White House. and tina
learning the linen was for sale at shop in Penn
| sylvania avenue, he sent and bought it privately
Sha fingered at the executive mansion loni
while after all arrangements should hav'
been made for her departure, keep
ing the new President out of his p-ope
| residence Afterward she made appeal
to public men and to the country TO
| pensions and other pecuniary aid, though Their
| was no need for public application. She wen
| abroad doing strange things and carrying tn
| honored name of Abraham Lincoln into strang
and sometimes unfit company, for she was great
| ly neglected. and felt the neglect While wa
Consul general at London, / learned of her liv
ing in obscure quarter and went to her
She was touched by the attention, and when
asked her to my house, for it seemed wron
that the widow of the man who had done s
much for US all should be ignored by any Amer
lean representative-she wrote me note
thanks, botraying how rare such cOurtesieS ha
| become to her them
The next heard of the poor woman was tn
scandal Of the courts in Chicago, when the fac
was made clear that she was insane 1t
great relief to me to learn it, and doubtless tn
disclosure of the secret which her son must hav
long suspected-thoueh, like the Spartan boy
| he cloaked his pan-was to him a sort of terri
BILE satisfaction. It indicated bis conduct;
: told for him what he had concealed; it prove
him a worthy son of that great father who ais
bore his fate SO heroicay
The revelation not only showed these two a
noble sufferers, but redeemed the unfortuna a,
woman herself from the odum for which st
. was not responsible. The world had known ths
she seemed TO defy and malign her son. that sl
had appeared to do things unworthy of the vii
A | or widow of the great martyr of our histor,
| bad even seemed TO blot the Nations fame: b,
the pitifulstory of Miramar casts no reflection
. Maximilian's Empress, and the shadow of insani,
!, thrown across the intelligence of Mrs Lincoll
relieves her from reproaeh blame. Instes
/. of knocking figure, disgracing her name ar
a station and country. she too becomes an obie